Hey everybody! What did you guys think of the last chapter? I really appreciate all of the favorites and followings I'm getting, but I would LOVE to see some more reviews and hear what you guys think! I'm so so sorry I didn't get it updated on time, but to make up for it, I'm posting this one early!
Casey woke up slowly, blinking against the sunset streaming through the blinds. He stifled a groan as he accidentally shifted his injured shoulder. Feeling a weight against his left hand, he turned, raising an eyebrow.
Kelly was sound asleep, arms crossed on top of Matt's hand. His head was pillowed in his arms, turned away from Matt. Somehow, the chair had been dragged closer to the bed, the squad lieutenant's lower half vaguely resembling a pretzel. A small 'click' sounded from the doorway, making Matt turn.
Shay stood in the doorway, smirking as she slid the phone back in her pocket. Waving to Matt, she deposited a duffle bag in the chair nearest the slumbering Severide before moving to perch on the opposite side of Matt's bed.
"Hey Matt," she whispered, eyes sparkling with mirth.
"Shay," he greeted softly. "How are you?"
"I'm fine, but I'm supposed to be asking you that," she lightly reprimanded. "How's the pain level?"
"Fine," Matt quipped automatically, earning a glare. "Okay, it hurts, but I can handle it."
"Men," Shay huffed, rolling her eyes. "Did you two work things out?"
"Mostly," Casey nodded.
"Oh good. I'd hate to have to ground you both."
Matt snickered. "Aw but mom, Kelly and I were good boys. We even took our naps!"
"I can see that," The paramedic laughed softly, noticing the tenseness the truck lieutenant still retained. "So what didn't you cover? Why are you still upset?"
The blonde man sighed. "We need to talk more about Heather. But I'm not sure how Kelly will take it."
Shay's eyes softened. "Well I'll tell you what. Let's wake Kel up and get you checked by Dr. Branson. Then, if the Doc approves, we'll get you both into more comfortable clothes and eat my smuggled food while you guys talk. I'll play referee during the discussion, okay? I won't let either one of you go too far."
"Thanks Shay," Matt smiled gratefully. "So, should we wake Kelly?"
The paramedic smirked, retrieving her phone. She touched the screen a few times before angling the phone towards Severide's sleeping face. A sudden, loud roar of a vacuum cleaner filled the room. Kelly jerked up frantically, falling out of the chair.
"Damnit, Shay! Not again…everything's clean, I promise!" he swore, still disoriented from sleep. He ended up awkwardly sprawled on the floor next to his chair.
Matt burst out laughing at the sight of his fellow fireman spastically flailing at the sound of a vacuum cleaner. Hearing the laughter and gaining a better grip on his surroundings, Kelly groaned, rubbing his face. Shay laughed softly before nudging Kelly with her foot.
"Up you come, sleepyhead," she smirked.
Climbing back into his chair, Severide scowled playfully. "Gee, thanks, Shay. You could have just shaken me or something. You didn't have to try to induce a heart attack."
"Meh, you're in a hospital," she countered. "Besides, this way, Casey got to laugh."
Rolling his eyes at his roommate's flippant behavior, Kelly turned to address Matt. "How're you feeling? Did you sleep okay?"
Casey nodded. "Yeah, I'm alright. Shay said she'd find the doctor so I could get checked out."
The paramedic nodded and set off to find the physician. Kelly, meanwhile, scrutinized his fellow fireman. His face still held tension, as well as signs of exhaustion. The blue eyes were glazed over with pain.
"You're in a lot of pain, huh?" the squad lieutenant observed softly. Casey opened his mouth to disagree, earning a glare from Severide. "Don't you dare lie to me, Matthew..."
The blonde grimaced, nodding lightly instead. "It wasn't this bad, earlier."
Reaching a hand out, Severide squeezed his forearm supportively. "Pain meds must be wearing off. Don't worry, we'll get Dr. Branson to give you more."
Matt shook his head. "I'll be okay…"
"Damnit Matt, you're not the Little Engine that could," Kelly insisted. "If you're in pain, we'll get you some meds, okay? Do you understand me?"
Matt smirked briefly. "I think I can…I think I can…"
"Smartass," Kelly grumbled good-naturedly.
"Oh good! They haven't killed each other yet," Shay joked, reentering the room. Dr. Branson followed behind her, eyebrows raised. "Thanks for playing nicely, boys. I've returned with the doc."
"Ah, Lieutenant Casey," Branson greeted. "We're very pleased that you've joined the land of the living. How are you feeling?"
"I'm pretty good, all things considered," Matt responded, ignoring Kelly's glare.
"Well that's a noble response, but I'm sure you're probably much more uncomfortable than you're saying," Branson countered. "The bullet tore through various parts of your musculature, nicked your scapula, and severed your subclavian artery. That's not something a band aid will fix, and, by my calculations, you're ready for your next round of pain meds. Are we interested?"
Matt nodded sheepishly. "I'd appreciate that."
The doctor smiled. "Excellent. I'll send a nurse in with the next dosage then. Your friend Shay here tells me that you'd like to get into some sweat pants and eat something other than the gourmet hospital food we offer. I don't have a problem with any of that. The monitors on the upper half of your body need to stay attached but I'll send a nurse to remove the catheter. Don't eat too much and nothing too rough on your stomach. I'll come back to check on you in a few hours."
After thanking the doctor, Kelly went to the bathroom to change into the clothes Shay had brought for him. Shay, meanwhile, perched on the edge of Matt's bed, waiting for the nurse to bring the meds and remove the catheter. Minutes later, a woman entered, carrying a cup with two oblong pills. Setting them on the bedside table, the nurse moved to pull the covers back.
"Shay," Matt muttered, blushing.
"What?" she responded calmly.
"Can you leave the room or stand in the corner or something? I mean she's…" the fireman trailed off, gesturing as he continued to turn crimson.
"Unhooking the catheter hooked to your junk?" Shay supplied. "You've got nothing to worry about, Matt…I'm not interested in looking. Besides, it's not my first catheter."
"Yeah…but…Shay!" he sputtered as the nurse continued, unfazed by the bickering.
Sighing, the paramedic stood from the bed and turned to the corner. She dramatically covered her eyes. "Fiiiiine. There you go Matt. I'll keep your innocence intact."
The truck lieutenant sighed, trying to contain his blushing as the nurse removed that catheter. "Alright then, sir. Would you like me to help you into some clothes? The doctor said you could change into underwear and sweatpants if you wanted to."
Shay burst out laughing as Kelly reemerged from the bathroom, just in time to see Matt turn an even deeper scarlet. Seeing his friend's predicament, the other lieutenant spoke up. "I'll help him get dressed, ma'am. But thanks anyways."
Casey let his head fall back on the pillow, sighing in relief. Shay continued to cackle from the corner as Kelly dug through the duffel for Matt's clothes. Smiling, he turned to approach the bed, sweats and boxers in hand. "Would you like me to help you into some clothes?" he mimicked.
"Shut up…" Matt groaned.
"Tssk tssk Matty…don't be rude or I'll ask your friend to come back!" Kelly playfully warned.
"Fine, yes, Kelly, I'd like help. Let's just get this over with," the blonde conceded, still blushing slightly.
"Never would have pegged you for a quickie-type of guy, Casey," Shay quipped from the corner, still covering her eyes.
Severide snickered as he helped Matt shakily stand at the side of the bed. After making sure his surrogate brother was steady enough, Kelly helped him step each foot into the underwear and sweats before pulling them up to his waist. "Easy does it, bud," he coaxed as he helped the fireman back into the hospital bed.
"Thanks," Casey managed, wincing. Taking the cup of water and meds Kelly offered him, he tossed the pills back.
"Can I please look now?" Shay moaned.
"Yeah, you're good," Severide laughed, peeling her hand off of her face. "Where's the food?"
The paramedic rolled her eyes before reaching for the untouched backpack near her. "I see how it is; all I'm good for is supplying things!"
Kelly was about to respond when he noticed the sandwiches being pulled out of the backpack. Shay handed the squad lieutenant a foot long before handing Matt a six inch. She then took one out for herself before reaching into the bag and grabbing out a bag of chips and two sodas. Kelly grabbed one of the drinks before biting into his sub. "Thanks, Shay!"
Matt nodded his gratitude as he too began to eat his meal. Shay smiled and grabbed some chips before passing the bag along. "Sorry about the small size, Matt, but I thought it'd be safer to start small. I'll bring more food tomorrow," she offered.
Casey just smiled softly. "That's okay, thanks for the smuggled food, Shay."
The paramedic relaxed into the plastic chair. "Alright then, everybody's thankful for me and my glorious food. Now, why don't you two continue your discussion? I'm upset I had to miss the first half."
Nervously swallowing the bite of sub, the truck lieutenant nodded, eyeing the other lieutenant. Severide appeared intrigued, but his eyes still held concern as they noted the anxiety in Matt's face. Taking a deep breath, Matt began. "Well, I guess we need to talk more about Heather. Where should we start?"
Kelly narrowed his eyes, carefully looking over his surrogate brother. Something's still bothering him… "Why don't you tell me what's been happening? Tell me your side and I'll listen carefully this time. If I still have questions at the end, I'll ask."
"That sounds good," Shay encouraged lightly.
Matt took a deep breath before beginning. "Heather…Heather and I really are just friends. At least that's what I see us as. I took her to the academy dinner, like a week or so ago, right? Well I just, I thought it would be nice, you know? She's used to going with Andy, and this way, she could see everybody and maybe enjoy herself. So I thought it would be a good idea. But then later, I was driving her home in my truck and she…she starts talking about how nice I've been to her and how sweet I am and then…then she kissed me! And I, I didn't really stop her…I think I even kissed her back for a second. But I didn't mean to! I mean, I'd never do that to you or Andy!"
At this point, Kelly's frown increased tenfold and Shay placed a restraining hand on his forearm. Casey didn't seem to notice the tension as he rambled on. "She just…Heather just kissed me and then that was it, I pulled back and she got out of the truck. And I stupidly thought that that would be the end of it. I thought it was an honest mistake; it was an emotional day, just move on. But then she offered to cook me some dinner and I couldn't refuse. I was tired and sore. But then she came over without the boys and things got weird. I mean, she was cooking lasagna and then she starts talking about how we both deserve to be happy, that there's no reason not to be happy with each other. And she tried to kiss me again, and I stopped her this time. I was just…it was such a long day, Sev. The ceiling and your dad and then, it just all happened so quickly. I told her we couldn't, that it wasn't fair to Andy, that we should just be friends, and then I offered her the couch…I was too tired to keep arguing with her. And I didn't want it; I didn't want to steal Andy's widow. I was trying to explain that to her when you stopped by this morning."
Rubbing a hand over his face, Severide growled softly before turning to look at Matt. The other man's blue eyes were defensive but there was also a lingering uncertainty. Uncertainty in how I'll respond, Kelly realized. "Matt…look, I'm not mad at you, okay? I mean I was…but I know it's Heather who's doing this."
Shaking his head, Casey closed his eyes. "But she came on to me, Kel…and I kissed her back."
"It's a reaction, Matt," he argued, feeling his annoyance and frustration at Heather grow. "And you said it yourself. She came on to you. You were just trying to be a good friend and to help her with Andy… I should've realized it wasn't you. I mean…I don't know what her game is, but I'll figure it out. It's between her and me now, okay? You and I are good…as long as you forgive me for not believing you."
Cautiously opening his eyes, Casey blinked up at Kelly. "Of course I forgive you, Kel…I know how it must have looked. But that's it? No threats to beat my ass on behalf of Andy? No guilt trips for letting Heather come between us?"
Shaking his head, Kelly reached out to gently squeeze the man's uninjured shoulder. "No, no more of that, bud. From now on, it'll be you and me, okay?"
Having stayed quiet as the boys worked out their problems, Shay cleared her throat from the corner. "Just you two, huh?"
Rolling his eyes, Severide turned to grin at her. "And Shay, of course. We can be like the three musketeers or something."
Matt felt the tension and anxiety he'd been feeling slowly drain away, leaving behind a heavy drowsiness. His friend quickly noted the exhaustion and offered a sympathetic smile. "Get some sleep, Matty…there's no need to worry about this mess anymore. Everything's taken care of."
Shay moved to dim the lights as Kelly cleaned up the trash from their dinner. Matt slowly drifted off to sleep, content to give in to his dreariness now that Kelly was on his side once more. Severide, meanwhile, waited for Casey's eyes to slip closed as his breathing evened out. Then he pulled on a jacket Shay had brought, slipping his phone into the pocket. Ignoring Shay's questioning glance, Kelly snagged the car keys and headed for the hallway, stopping only when his roommate tugged his arm. They exchanged glances before Kelly nodded towards the truck lieutenant. Shay caught his meaning and dragged him into the hallway.
"Where do you think you're going?" she demanded sharply, not really needing an answer.
"I'm going to get some answers," he answered vaguely.
"Oh really? And what if Matt needs you?"
"Matt'll sleep for a few hours at least at this point, especially without his guilty conscience messing with him," Severide argued knowingly. "And you'll be here. Look, I've been confined all day without being able to do anything. Now that I know, and now that Matt's safe…I've got to do something, Shay."
The blonde sighed. "Fine, but no more than two hours, okay? And don't do anything you'll regret, Kelly!"
The lieutenant just nodded before walking briskly towards the elevator. Now that he knew what all had occurred between Heather and the man he considered a brother, he was determined to confront the woman. And Kelly Severide wasn't going to be ignored, not when he needed answers.
So what did we think? What's gonna happen next? PLEASE REVIEW!